Upgrade Help/Advice please

[Flizzle]

Hey Guys

I'm looking to upgrade my 5 year old machine. I tend to sit somewhere between bang for buck and future proof. I mostly only play LoL and WoW these days and a bit of Civ, but I also tend to play things like Forza and AC when they get released.
Ive never needed top end graphics and turn shadows to mediumish quality as that usually kills my machine and I am therefore used to it.
I do work in IT (second line) and know my way around a machine, but I dont deal with gaming as much as I used to.
This upgrade is more of a necessity rather than treating myself as my CPU is finally tapping out.

My current build: (Full ATX Tower W10 64bit)

Intel Core i5 4690K
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz
MSI Z97 GAMING 5 (MS-7917)
4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (MSI)
Corsair H80i GT Cooler

Drives
931GB Hitachi HDS721010CLA332
232GB Samsung SSD 840 Series
1863GB Seagate ST2000DM006-2DM164
232GB Samsung SSD 750 EVO 250GB

Ive been toying with swapping to AMD as they are no longer what they were at the time I bought this. (I5 10600k vs r7 3700x)
I would like an NVME SSD
GPU wont be upgraded as its not an issue and its the most recently replaced part (involved coke and a loud bang on my 970)

This is mostly looking at the Mobo, CPU setup, the cooler should be fine, but everywhere I look these days everyone uses air coolers?
The RAM will most likely go out too, ive never tried running more than 16gb though.. never needed to. I would upgrade it though as its only running at 800mhz.

Aiming to spend somewhere around 700 GBP but its not the end of the world if it goes higher.

[Temp name]

This is mostly looking at the Mobo, CPU setup, the cooler should be fine, but everywhere I look these days everyone uses air coolers?

Depending on how old the cooler is, I'd replace it too. 5 years is around the time AiOs start to run on less fluid than is needed. Most people use air coolers because they're cheaper for the same performance. Air coolers also have less moving parts, since they don't have a pump, and don't run out of liquid. Unless you don't have the vertical space for a tower cooler, or you just really like the look, AiO's don't make sense.

The RAM will most likely go out too, ive never tried running more than 16gb though.. never needed to. I would upgrade it though as its only running at 800mhz.

And also you need new RAM because modern CPUs don't support DDR3

Aiming to spend somewhere around 700 GBP but its not the end of the world if it goes higher.

Since you didn't list what PSU you had, I took the liberty of assuming it's garbage and put in a replacement for that too:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£151.56 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler (£55.07 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£118.95 @ AWD-IT)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory (£107.43 @ Newegg UK)
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£129.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£115.63 @ Novatech)
Total: £678.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-30 20:06 BST+0100

If you don't want to replace it, drop the PSU and you can easily upgrade to a 3700x and stay within the budget. https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Q7pD27
And before anyone complains that the tomahawk isn't in stock: It is in the UK. I checked the websites linked on PCPP, they are in stock.

For a similar Intel build you're looking at something like this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-10600K 4.1 GHz 6-Core Processor (£273.71 @ CCL Computers)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler (£55.07 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI ATX LGA1200 Motherboard (£209.97 @ Box Limited)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£60.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£129.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £729.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-30 20:13 BST+0100

It doesn't come with a PSU but costs more..
If you do go with the Intel build, it's almost mandatory that you overclock it. The 10600k is a fantastic overclocker, and can easily net you 10-15% performance gain, equalling it to a 10900k stock. Or, at least in games where you're CPU bound rather than GPU bound. Not so much in actual CPU-bound work loads
That said, if you're using a 1070 as a gpu, you're likely not running into a CPU bottle neck in your games, so I'd probably just go with the AMD one honestly.

[Flizzle]

Depending on how old the cooler is, I'd replace it too. 5 years is around the time AiOs start to run on less fluid than is needed. Most people use air coolers because they're cheaper for the same performance. Air coolers also have less moving parts, since they don't have a pump, and don't run out of liquid. Unless you don't have the vertical space for a tower cooler, or you just really like the look, AiO's don't make sense

Yeah, the cooler is a year or two younger, maybe 3 years or 4 years give or take. Its on the potentially needed to be replaced list. If it needs to go, ive not got any attachment to it haha. Im using a corsair graphite 780T for a case so space isnt ever really an issue.

And also you need new RAM because modern CPUs don't support DDR3

Completely forgot about the RAM not being supported. Perks of corporate IT and dealing with compact Dells and Macs.

Since you didn't list what PSU you had, I took the liberty of assuming it's garbage and put in a replacement for that too:

I absolutely forgot to list the PSU, its an XFX Pro 850 Gold, ive never had issues with it. Wouldnt have thought it needed replacing?

If you don't want to replace it, drop the PSU and you can easily upgrade to a 3700x and stay within the budget. https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Q7pD27
And before anyone complains that the tomahawk isn't in stock: It is in the UK. I checked the websites linked on PCPP, they are in stock.

I would prefer to stick to a 3700x over a 3600x, but I know that the 4000 series is dropping but not for a good 1/3 of a year or so?
Ive not used AMD before, ive always been an Intel guy.. But i cant ignore what I am seeing online.
Would the wraithcooler (spelling) that comes with it not be alright if its not clocked?

For a similar Intel build you're looking at something like this:

Is it worth it over a 3700x? Ignoring the PSU on the AMD build, downgrading the RAM too?

It doesn't come with a PSU but costs more..
If you do go with the Intel build, it's almost mandatory that you overclock it. The 10600k is a fantastic overclocker, and can easily net you 10-15% performance gain, equalling it to a 10900k stock. Or, at least in games where you're CPU bound rather than GPU bound. Not so much in actual CPU-bound work loads
That said, if you're using a 1070 as a gpu, you're likely not running into a CPU bottle neck in your games, so I'd probably just go with the AMD one honestly.

I would be replacing the GPU in a few years, usually it would be all at the same time but I feel a 1070 still makes the cut, if I were to buy one, it would be a 2070 at the moment, but I kinda want to wait on it. Im not playing anything on Ultra thats murdering my GPU, its all the CPU whenever I take a look.


Thanks a lot for the response though, massive insight

[Thunderball]

I absolutely forgot to list the PSU, its an XFX Pro 850 Gold, ive never had issues with it. Wouldnt have thought it needed replacing?

It's fine.

I would prefer to stick to a 3700x over a 3600x, but I know that the 4000 series is dropping but not for a good 1/3 of a year or so?
Ive not used AMD before, ive always been an Intel guy.. But i cant ignore what I am seeing online.
Would the wraithcooler (spelling) that comes with it not be alright if its not clocked?

For what you're playing just go with a 3600 and a simple tower cooler. And yea, Ryzen 4000 is not dropping until october-november at the earliest. If you wanna do some futureproofing and go with 3700x then the stock cooler will do the job, but it's noisy so I suggest investing into a simple tower anyway.

Is it worth it over a 3700x? Ignoring the PSU on the AMD build, downgrading the RAM too?

For high fps gaming Intel is still king. Pretty much requires that you overclock though. For what you're doing it's not worth it.

[Temp name]

Yeah, the cooler is a year or two younger, maybe 3 years or 4 years give or take. Its on the potentially needed to be replaced list. If it needs to go, ive not got any attachment to it haha. Im using a corsair graphite 780T for a case so space isnt ever really an issue.

Try and keep it then, if you have unreasonably high temps or you can hear it gurgling, replace it.

I absolutely forgot to list the PSU, its an XFX Pro 850 Gold, ive never had issues with it. Wouldnt have thought it needed replacing?

That's actually not bad, you can keep it.

I would prefer to stick to a 3700x over a 3600x, but I know that the 4000 series is dropping but not for a good 1/3 of a year or so?

Current leaks and speculation puts it at November/December

Ive not used AMD before, ive always been an Intel guy.. But i cant ignore what I am seeing online.
Would the wraithcooler (spelling) that comes with it not be alright if its not clocked?

Yes. It'll be loud and kinda hot, but just fine if you don't over clock

Is it worth it over a 3700x? Ignoring the PSU on the AMD build, downgrading the RAM too?

If you care about pushing every last frame, yes. If you'd rather something more well rounded and are fine with a couple percent less performance, then no.

I would be replacing the GPU in a few years, usually it would be all at the same time but I feel a 1070 still makes the cut, if I were to buy one, it would be a 2070 at the moment, but I kinda want to wait on it. Im not playing anything on Ultra thats murdering my GPU, its all the CPU whenever I take a look.

Yeah, if you're happy with its performance there's no reason to upgrade it. Just more fuel on the fire that is Intel at the moment. Granted with their 10th-gen CPUs they closed the gap a little by hyper-threading all their CPUs rather than just the i7/i9s, but they still don't make sense outside of hardcore gaming imo.

Thanks a lot for the response though, massive insight

[chazus]

Moving to Upgrade Forum